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Jordan Byrd is in his fourth year as Clemson assistant golf coach. From recruiting to golf instruction to facility enhancement to overall administration of the program, Byrd has had a positive influence on Larry Penley's program.
In his three years with the program, Clemson has finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships twice, a number-seven finish in 2006 and a number-five finish in 2008. Clemson's number-five finish in 2008 was the best for the program since it won the national championship in 2003.
Byrd had a significant impact on Clemson's top five recruiting class that entered Clemson in August of 2006. Sam Saunders and Kyle Stanley were both ranked among the top 10 junior players in the nation and went on to have outstanding freshman seasons.
Stanley was named ACC Player of the Year as a freshman, the first freshman in ACC history to win the award. He also became the first freshman in Clemson history to be named a first-team All-American and he finished second at the NCAA National Championship, the highest finish by a Clemson golfer since 1998. Saunders made the NCAA All-District III team in 2008 when he finished 11th at the NCAA West Regional, leading the Tigers to a third place finish.
Byrd moved into the newly created assistant golf coach position at Clemson University on August 4, 2005. He became Clemson's first assistant coach in the sport since the 1982-83 academic year when Larry Penley held the position before he succeeded Bobby Robinson as Clemson's head coach the following year.
Byrd has considerable experience as a player and is familiar with the Clemson program. He was the Southern Conference Champion in 1997 as a junior, and is the brother of former Clemson All-American and current PGA Tour player Jonathan Byrd.
Jordan Byrd was the captain of the Furman golf team his senior year (1997-98). He won the Southern Conference Championship as a junior in 1997 when the Paladins also won the team title. With that team championship, Furman qualified as a team for the NCAA tournament for the first time in the program's history.
Byrd had 11 top 10 finishes in his career at Furman and was named to the All-Southern Conference team in 1997 and 1998. He led the team in stroke average as a junior (74.1) and had a career stroke average of 75.72, still among the best in Furman history. He had a career best 66 at the 1996 Old Dominion Seascape Invitational and was Furman's top golfer in nine different tournaments over his career.
Over his final two seasons as a collegian, he competed against his brother Jonathan and the Clemson Tigers four times. It is interesting to note that the brothers had the exact same 54-hole score in two of the four tournaments. They tied for eighth with 218 scores at the 1997 Furman Invitational, then had identical 229 scores at the NCAA East Regional later that year at Hot Springs, VA. Jordan was a junior at Furman and Jonathan a freshman at Clemson that year.
Byrd comes from an athletic family. In addition to the accomplishments of his brother, his father, Jim Byrd, was a standout football player at North Carolina in the 1960s. Jim Byrd and his wife Jo have been omnipresent at Clemson golf events supporting the Tigers ever since Jonathan was a freshman in 1996.
Jordan also had an outstanding amateur career, a playing career that continues today. He reached the semifinals of the North-South in 1997. In 2006 he finished second in the South Carolina Amateur (tied with Clemson player Phillip Mollica). He also qualified for the US Amateur and the US Mid-Amateur. In both qualifiers, he won medalist honors. He also teamed with his father, Jim Byrd, to win the South Carolina Father-Son Amateur Championship in the summer of 2006.
In the fall of 2007 he reached the quarterfinals of the United States Mid-Amateur. He was just three victories away from joining his brother at the 2008 Masters. Byrd was ranked among the top 100 amateurs according to the Golfweek Amateur rankings for most of the summer of 2007.
A native of Columbia, SC, Byrd graduated from Spring Valley High School, where he was an outstanding golfer and wrestler. He reached the state finals in his weight class on the wrestling mat in 1994, the same year he finished in the top 10 in the state golf tournament. On the course, he led Spring Valley High to three top five finishes in the state tournament. He won the Spring Valley Invitational as a senior and captured the 1993 Junior World Optimist title.
After graduating from Furman in 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration, Byrd pursued a professional career for two years. He played on the Hooter's Tour and the Tear Drop Tour during his professional and had four top five finishes.
From May of 2001 to the summer of 2005, Byrd worked as a salesman, trader, portfolio manager, and technical analyst at DiBiasio & Edgington Inc in Annandale, VA.
Jordan Byrd Quick Facts
Born: July 19, 1976 in Lexington, SC
Education: Graduated from Spring Valley High School in Columbia, SC in 1994; graduated from Furman University in Greenville, SC in 1998
Family: Single, son of Jim and Jo Byrd of Columbia, SC. Brother of PGA Tour player Jonathan Byrd. Coaching Career: Assistant coach at Clemson University, August 2005- present.
Playing Experience: Four-year letterman at Furman University, 1994-98
Honors: Southern Conference Champion in 1997. Qualified for US Amateur in US Mid-Amateur in 2006. Quarterfinalist at 2007 United States Mid-Amateur
